Moment of the explosion at Enerhodar near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
Heavy fighting continues in southern Ukraine, including shelling in the Enerhodar district near the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said today.
He added that the Kremlin has gone ahead with the Vostok 22 military exercise, an annual joint strategic exercise affair, marking the culmination of a year of military training even as its war in Ukraine unfolds.
It comes as the physical integrity of Ukraine’s Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant had been breached amid heavy shelling from both sides, UN nuclear agency chief Rafael Grossi said on Thursday.
“It’s obvious that the plant and the physical integrity of the plant has been violated multiple times … this is something that cannot continue to happen,” Dr Grossi said.
Vehicles carrying members of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection mission were seen driving on roads outside the city of Zaporizhzhia as the team visited the largest nuclear facility in Europe after a long wait.
The head of the nuclear watchdog said he would continue to worry about the tense situation at the nuclear power plant until the fighting stabilizes. Experts are likely to remain at the facility for a few days.
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Jared Kushner claims the Ukraine war would not have happened if Donald Trump had been president
The war in Ukraine would not have happened if Donald Trump was still president, his son-in-law has said.
Trump’s former senior adviser Jared Kushner claimed the former president led peace in Europe and put China on his “back.”
“We have had peace in Europe, peace in the world. China was behind us and now we have a war in Ukraine with Russia, this would never have happened,” Kushner said.
Thomas Kingsley has the details.
Jared Kushner claims the Ukraine war would never have happened if Trump were president
Former president’s son-in-law also says Trump is ‘obviously thinking’ about running for president again
Joe Middleton September 2, 2022 11:04 am
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Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu accuses Ukraine of continuing to bomb the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has accused Ukraine of continuing to bomb the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, raising the risks of a nuclear catastrophe in Europe, Russian news agencies reported on Friday.
Shoigu accused Ukraine of “nuclear terrorism” and rejected claims by Kyiv and the West that Russia had deployed heavy weapons at the nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, which has been under Russian control since March, Retuers reported.
This claim has not been independently verified. Both Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of attacking the facilities.
Joe Middleton September 2, 2022 10:50 am
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Two nuclear inspectors to stay in Zaporizhzhia permanently, Russia’s top official says
Reuters reports that two inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will stay at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant permanently, Russia’s ambassador to international institutions in Vienna told the RIA news agency today News.
An IAEA mission is currently at the plant, Europe’s largest nuclear facility which has been under the control of Russian forces since March.
Joe Middleton September 2, 2022 10:15 am
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The IAEA’s mission could still be important despite the Russian military presence, Zelensky says
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant could still be important despite difficulties encountered due to the Russian presence at the site, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said today.
“We did everything we could to ensure that the IAEA had access to the Zaporizhzhia plant and I think this mission can still have a role to play,” Zelensky said in a video played at The European House, a meeting of the Ambrosetti Forum in northern Italy
Ukraine’s state nuclear company said earlier Friday that the IAEA mission had been unable to enter the crisis center of the plant, where Ukraine says Russian troops are stationed, and that it would struggle to make an impartial assessment of the situation , reports Reuters.
“Unfortunately, we have not heard the main thing from the IAEA, which is Russia’s call to demilitarize the station,” Zelenskiy said.
“I hope that the mission will live up to what we have agreed and that it will serve the interests of the entire international community.”
He added that if the power plant could be brought back into operation safely, Ukraine could help with the energy crisis in Europe.
Joe Middleton September 2, 2022 9:37 am
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The footage is said to show explosions in northern Ukraine near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
The mayor of Enerhodar said “constant mortar attacks” hit the Ukrainian town near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the early hours of Thursday, September 1.
Dmytro Orlov claimed in a Telegram post that the Russian strikes hit the “pre-agreed route” of the UN IAEA mission to the Zaporizhzhia plant, causing an electrical unit to shut down.
Russian news agency Interfax said the bombings hit residential buildings, a preschool building and parked cars. There was an unknown number of victims in the attack.
Images circulating on Twitter are said to show explosions in the city that day.
The footage is said to show explosions in northern Ukraine near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
The mayor of Enerhodar said “constant mortar attacks” hit the Ukrainian town near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the early hours of Thursday, September 1. UN IAEA mission to the Zaporizhzhia plant, which caused a shutdown of an electrical unit. Russian news agency Interfax said the bombings hit residential buildings, a preschool building and parked cars. An unknown number of casualties occurred in the attack. Images circulating on Twitter are said to show explosions in the city that day. Subscribe to our newsletters.
Joe Middleton September 2, 2022 8:53 am
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G7 plans price cap on Russian oil
Group of Seven finance ministers are expected to confirm plans on Friday to impose a price cap on Russian oil in a bid to reduce revenue from Moscow’s war in Ukraine but keep crude flowing to avoid spikes of prices, G7 officials said.
Ministers from the club of rich industrial democracies are due to meet virtually and are expected to issue a statement outlining their implementation plans.
“There is likely to be an agreement,” said a European G7 official, adding that it was unclear how many details would be revealed, such as the per-barrel level of the price cap, above which compliant countries would they will refuse insurance and financing to Russian crude oil and cargoes of petroleum products.
British Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi said in Washington on Thursday that he hoped G7 finance ministers “will have a statement that will mean we can move forward with the pace to do this”.
“We want this oil price cap to go over the line,” he said at a think tank event in Washington a day after discussing the cap with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
Despite a drop in Russia’s oil export volumes, its oil export earnings in June rose by $700 million from May due to prices boosted by its war in Ukraine, the agency said Energy International last month.
The G7 is made up of Great Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. Some officials in the bloc have said the cap needs broader support and have questioned whether it can succeed without the participation of major oil consumers China and India, which are unlikely to approve the plan.
But other G7 officials have said China and India have expressed interest in buying Russian oil at an even lower price under the cap.
Joe Middleton September 2, 2022 8:31 am
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Cargo ship carrying corn from Ukraine anchors in Istanbul
A cargo ship carrying more than 3,000 tons (3,307 tons) of corn from Ukraine was towed to an anchorage in Istanbul on Friday after briefly running aground, a shipping agency said, the first incident this rate in an export agreement negotiated by the United Nations.
Turkish state broadcaster TRT Haber said traffic in the Bosphorus strait had reopened after it was halted due to the grounding of the 173-meter (567.59-foot) Lady Zehma due to a rudder failure around 1800 GMT.
The Tribeca Shipping Agency said the Lady Zehma’s towing and salvage operation began at 21:10 GMT and anchored in the southern anchorage area of the Bosphorus at 23:30 GMT.
No one was injured in the incident, the Istanbul governor’s office said. During the burial, the ship’s bow had been about 150 meters from the shore in the busy Bebek district, according to a witness and data from Refinitiv Eikon.
Shipping data showed the ship was anchored in the Sea of Marmara, off the coast of Istanbul, on Friday morning.
Ukraine’s grain exports fell after Russia invaded the country on February 24 and blockaded its Black Sea ports, raising global food prices and sparking fears of shortages in Africa and the Middle East, Reuters reports.
Three ports were unblocked under the agreement signed on July 22 by Moscow and Kyiv, and negotiated by the UN and Ankara.
Joe Middleton September 2, 2022 7:52 am
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Norwegian energy firm Equinor completes exit from Moscow
Norwegian energy firm Equinor said on Friday it had completed its exit from Russia in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, fulfilling a promise made in February, Reuters reports.
This is the first orderly and complete exit from Russia by an international oil and gas company as pressure mounts on others, such as TotalEnergies and Exxon Mobil, to also leave.
On February 28, Equinor said it would begin the process of divesting joint ventures in Russia, calling its position “untenable” due to the outbreak of war the previous week.
Since then, Equinor had one asset left to divest…